How Amazon Prime Can Help Simplify Your Life

I live in a big, overpopulated city, and I absolutely abhor driving in it. The closest safe mall is approximately 30-45 minutes away from my house, depending on traffic. Worse, a lot of the stores in our area aren’t in the nicest areas In fact, none of the Walmart store within a 30-minute radius feel particularly safe to me, and I drive 20 minutes to a Target across the city line rather than travel to the one less than 10 minutes up the road.

Over the last three years, Amazon Prime has replaced almost all of my trips to these stores. Other than when I’ve gone to my hometown to visit my mom, I haven’t been to a Walmart in two years. I have been to the mall only once in the last three years other than visits to take my child to visit Santa. Instead, I order items from Amazon and nearly always have them in two business days, depending on what time I place my order. Better yet, I get the opportunity to shop for the best deals and to read reviews and ensure that what I’m buying is worth the cost. I’ve purchased everything from toilet tissue to clothes from Amazon, and I’ve regretted very few of my purchases. The 30-day return window has been sufficient for me to return the few items that I’ve bought that have been defective.

Other than two-day shipping and the benefit of rarely leaving my house for shopping trips across town, I’ve found a few additional benefits to Amazon Prime.

I get early access to Amazon Prime’s lightning deals and to other exclusive deals and promotions (like on Amazon Prime Day, which happens to be today!).

I get access (in my area) to Amazon Prime Now. Prime Now reached our area just before I had emergency oral surgery in early 2016. I used Prime then to get some soft foods delivered to my house without my having to go anywhere, and I’ve used it since then, most frequently when I or my daughter is sick. Do you know how great it is to be able to have Zarbee’s cough syrup delivered for my daughter when she woke up sick with no symptoms the previous day? (That particular cough syrup is just supposed to be kept for 90 days, so it is one of those items I don’t typically keep on hand.)

One more thing: My husband and daughter really love streaming shows on Prime. My daughter particularly loves Amazon’s “Creative Galaxy,” “Bubble Guppies,” and “Shaun the Sheep.” My husband watches a lot of science fiction movies and really enjoys streaming programming in that genre, too. While I prefer Hulu, I rented a Patrick Dempsey movie on Amazon not long ago after receiving a promotional code for one 99-cent movie rental. All that said, I very much enjoy the music I can stream on the Amazon Music app. That app has provided much music for multiple road trips during the last two years or so.

Amazon Prime costs just $99 per year, and my husband and I think it’s worth it. (To be fair, this year is the first year we’ve been charged the full cost since our first Prime year in 2014. The reason? My husband was a college student! If you can meet the eligibility requirements as a student, you can join Amazon Prime Student for just $49 per year.)

Convinced? Or maybe you’d just like to try out Prime to see if you like it? You can use the links below to access a free trial to Amazon Prime or Amazon Prime Student or even to give a gift subscription to Amazon Prime. If you use the links below, you won’t pay a dollar more for the subscription, but I will receive a small commission to help support this site (like funding the prizes that are the focus of the giveaway that starts Wednesday!).

Today, Tuesday, July 11, 2017, is Prime Day. It’s a perfect day to try out Prime if you haven’t already. Use one of the links above and get a free trial and see if you can find any deals! My husband is looking at buying himself a new Fire, given that the prices start at $29.99. (The Fire is another Amazon product I highly recommend; our daughter has had two of the Kids’ Fires so far and loved both). I’ve been talking to some ladies on Instagram who have convinced me of the many time-saving benefits of the Instant Pot, and I’m thrilled to see the 8-quart version on sale for $89.99 today. The best deal I’ve seen so far, though, is the Ninja Blender on sale for $69.99. I have that blender, and I would put it next to a Vitamix or a Blendtec anyday. (Again, all of the links in this paragraph are affiliate links, and if you purchase a Fire, an Instant Pot, or a Ninja Blender on sale through one of those links, you help support this site.)

Post in the comments below and let me know what deals you’ve seen on Prime Day!

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Hi, I’m Bridget!

Nice to meet you! I’m the recovering perfectionist behind this blog. After some setbacks left my brilliant-but-disorganized husband in control of our home management for a few years, I created a system to organize our home again and make it free of all clutter, whether paper, financial, digital, or tangible. On this blog, I detail those steps, showcase some organization products I love, and offer a few printables to help you in your journey to total home organization. Read more about me here.